Greece offers a unique tourism product and that may cause the region’s “soft exports” to rise!

Tourism has been having a vital role in Greece’s economy and continues to be one of the most significant sectors for the country.
Due to its rich history, culture and numerous features such as its magnificent beaches and beautiful islands, it is one of Europe’s major tourist destinations. According to the Bank of Greece (BoG) figures, during the previous year, the country was visited by over 27 million tourists, number increased by 9.7%, against 2016!

Despite these figures, some issues may lead to a decline in Greece’s tourism numbers in the coming years, due to:

• Low tourism investments
• Over taxation.
• Rise in popularity for other countries (such as Egypt and Turkey)
• Geopolitical developments

Another fact that worries professionals in the Greek Tourism Industry (and the relevant chambers) is that the average spending per tourist during holidays in Greece dropped to 536.3 euros, over the first nine months of 2017. This indicated data, (released by the Bank of Greece), is almost half of the amount spent in Spain (1,075 euros per person) whereas the equivalent amount spent in Cyprus during the same period, was 733 euros. This may happened due to the tourist-related drop of prices and the low-budget holiday makers that Greece attracts.
On the other hand, concerning to the incoming tourism prospects in Greece for the current year, a SETE Intelligence report, reveals that at regional airports, the scheduled airline seats already showed a 22% increase for current year’s summer season, compared to last year’s same period of time.
Furthermore there is a great demand from “big markets”, such as the Germany and the United Kingdom, with Germany’s scheduled airline seats, having increased by 45% for 2018. According to Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) estimates, Greece will attract more than 30 million tourists in 2018 and revenue will be over 14.5 billion euros, setting a new record. This may lead to employment opportunities whether directly or indirectly.
WTTC Head Gerald Lawless said “Greece’s tourism growth will be phenomenal” during the WTFL Think Tank 2018 at Costa Navarino. He continued: “Greece is on its way to become a year-round tourism destination, as it has much more to offer than just beaches and sun. It has history, culture, excellent food, experiences to share with tourists and very good hospitality. That is what people like when they go abroad.”
This great tourism potential may give to local companies the opportunity to boost their sales. Do not forget that many times tourist buy delicious goodies such as olives, honey, olive oil etc to bring back home as treats to relatives and friends.
Have you ever thought that selling Greek Products/Brands to our country’s visitors is a kind of “soft exporting”?
This article was exclusively written by DK Consultants for the AMCHAM newsletter.